because those great figures, lbj, ted kennedy, were able to afford a bipartisan consensus cht you also mentioned they are now 43 freshman senators. that s the most since watergate, but don t you think this group if given enough time, can ma chur into the kind of leaders that we used to see in the upper chamber or am i just tripping here on a thursday afternoon? i would like to agree that it s possible and theoretically, it s possible. it just doesn t seem to be happening. take a guy like mark warner, democrat from virginia. he might have that potential. he s sick of the place. basically, even if somebody wants to be that, the primary voters are going to kick him out at home and there s so much disgust with what s going on here in washington, people are not reupping like they did before or a guy like dick lugar tries to reup and he s kicked